Joseph Otteh, the founder of Access To Justice (A2J ), who passed away in Lagos on 28 March 2025, will be buried on 20 June 2025 in Okporo, Orlu LGA, Imo State.
However, the funeral activities and proceedings will mostly take place in Lagos.
Otteh leaves behind a wife, three young children, and an elderly mum.
Joseph Otteh and Access To Justice (A2J ) were the first winners of the Gani Fawehinmi Award for Social Justice and Human Rights, 2010, which was instituted by the Nigerian Bar Association (NB) through its Human Rights Institute.
He was a Global Public Service Scholar at NYU and received a Master’s degree in law from both the University of Lagos and New York University.
He also served as a Visiting Researcher at the Danish Centre for Human Rights.
Otteh authored Fading Lights of Justice and Litigating in the Public Interest.
He contributed extensively to legal scholarship, consulting for institutions such as the British Government’s J4A Programme, the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA), the Nigerian Bar Association, the European Union’s Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Programme (RoLAC), and the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ).
Meanwhile, the late activist’s wife, Mrs Ogechi Chuma-Otteh in a statement, encourages friends and colleagues to send tributes in honour of his memory.
Her statement reads:
Dear Colleagues and Friends,
As we remember our dear Barrister Joseph Chukwuma Otteh’s life as a son, husband, father, friend and colleague alongside his remarkable contributions to the legal profession, we invite you to share your tributes and memories in honour of his legacy.
Your reflections will be invaluable in celebrating his life, character, and the impact he made on all who knew him.
Please send your tributes to [email protected] by 10th May, 2025, to enable us go to print early.
Please incorporate the following:
Sender’s Full Name
Sender’s Designation/Relationship (where applicable)
Sender’s Organisation/Association (where applicable)
Sender’s Location
Thank you for joining us in commemorating a life lived in the service of all that he touched.
With deepest sympathy
Mrs Ogechi Chuma-Otteh
For : The Family
